The toughest pro wrestler ever?

Wahoo, Black Jack Mulligan, Harley. All tough as nails.
Going way back, John Pesek, Ad Santel, Billy Riley, Bert Assirati.
Gene Lebell was something special.( Ask Bearcat Wright, if you could.)
Billy Robinson of course, ( he always disputed the Peter Maivia story, saying it ended the opposite of the accepted lore.)
Karl Gotch.
As alluded earlier it depends on definition of toughness.
 
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Wahoo, Black Jack Mulligan, Harley. All tough as nails.
Going way back, John Pesek, Ad Santel, Billy Riley, Bert Assirati.
Gene Lebell was something special.( Ask Bearcat Wright, if you could.)
Billy Robinson of course, ( he always disputed the Peter Maivia story, saying it ended the opposite if the accepted lore.)
Karl Gotch.
As alluded earlier it depends on definition of toughness.
you lose all credibility when you say Gotch. Kalisto kicked his ass for Christ's sake.
 
Debating who is the toughest wrestler ever is all fine and dandy, but one thing I think we can all agree on is the fact that if Joey Styles is ever involved in any of their disputes......everybody dies.

joey_styles.jpg
 
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the lack of mentions for dan spivey and the dynamite kid is,strange.
 
Wahoo, Black Jack Mulligan, Harley. All tough as nails.
Going way back, John Pesek, Ad Santel, Billy Riley, Bert Assirati.
Gene Lebell was something special.( Ask Bearcat Wright, if you could.)
Billy Robinson of course, ( he always disputed the Peter Maivia story, saying it ended the opposite of the accepted lore.)
Karl Gotch.
As alluded earlier it depends on definition of toughness.
If we're going back that far, might as well throw Stu Harts name in there as well.
the lack of mentions for dan spivey and the dynamite kid is,strange.

Dynamite's a good one. Though I think he tends to be remembered more for being a bully with Napoleon syndrome. Plus the whole thing Jaques hurt his tough guy legacy a bit.
 
Often left off the lists, but both of the Brisco brothers - Jack and Jerry were legit tough guys. Both had great amateur backgrounds, and several shoot interviews with wrestlers have stories about Jerry stretching guys 20 years his junior. You dont get the crazy "bit a dudes nose off, fought off 114 cops" shit with them, but they were both respected behind the scenes.
 
Does everyone know the story about Scott Steiner tying a jobber to a table backstage and ramming a pencil up it's ass?
 
Does everyone know the story about Scott Steiner tying a jobber to a table backstage and ramming a pencil up it's ass?

A story like that with Steiner, the only response to your question is "Which time?"
 
Another mention outside of the usual suspects - Maurice Mad Dog Vachon. I've heard both Heenan and Pat Patterson tell several stories about Mad Dog as a legit tough guy. He had the napolean complex, same as Dynamite, and was someone you didn't fuck with out of the ring.

Vachon started his career as an amateur wrestler, participating in the 1948 Summer Olympics and winning a gold medal at the 1950 British Empire Games

First guy mentioned in the WWE Bad Asses Roundtable:

 
Haku
Saku
Harley Race
Triple H (two torn quads, still finished matches)
Tommy Dreamer
 
Great call on Mad Dog! As MMA became more popular in the 90s, wrestlers of the 60s and 70s would say more than anyone elae that Mad Dog would have done the best in MMA.
Big fan of Stu Hart as a trainer of catch and promoter but never thought of him as a "tough" guy.
 
Great call on Mad Dog! As MMA became more popular in the 90s, wrestlers of the 60s and 70s would say more than anyone elae that Mad Dog would have done the best in MMA.
Big fan of Stu Hart as a trainer of catch and promoter but never thought of him as a "tough" guy.
Stu wasn't a tough guy or much of a shooter. He knew holds though
 
Davey Boy Smith was a true bad ass. Dynamite had some kind of mental control over him but I think Davey would have destroyed him easily if Dynamite actually followed through with his threats. HBK would have probably died at the hands of those Marines if Davey didn't clean house on them.
Dick Slater, Bob Roop. So many more.
 
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